Remi Andre

I’m usually not much of a fan of Google’s non-web based products. Their interfaces tend to be dull and lacking in features that I take for granted. One example is Android which, while not bad by any means, feels like Windows 95 on a cell phone. And that’s not good.

Chrome — which I’ve used a few times on Windows — seems to be different. The interface is minimalistic in that it stays out of your face, better so than both Safari and Firefox, but doesn’t actually sacrifice any features.

For example: there is only one box for typing in addresses and performing searches. Quick and simple. Type in something in the address field, and it will, like Firefox, perform a wild card search on the titles in your history. If too many hits come back, there’s a link to a Google Search-like history page with all your options. Definitely better than Firefox’s mile long drop down box.

In fact, this is all there is to the interface…

… which I like.

Some of the un-OS X-y parts really should be fixed before the final release. Like the tab close X should be on the left. And the buttons could use a bit of work. (Although they are nicely anonymous.)

Overall, though, the Webkit engine renders pages really quickly, and the Developer Tools are, not surprisingly, the same as Safari’s. And that’s good.

I’m trying out Chrome as my default browser for a week. Then maybe I will give it the Remi Seal of Approval!